Australian government deploys military to assist flood-hit Northern Territory

March 14, 2026 8:06 PM EDT

SYDNEY, March 15 (Reuters) - ‌Australia's Prime ​Minister ​Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that troops would be deployed ‌to help communities hit by a days-long ⁠flood emergency in the country's north.

Albanese said the ‌centre-left government had approved ‌deployment of Australian Defence Force personnel to help communities around the flood-hit Northern ​Territory town of Katherine, about 264km (164 miles) south of territory capital Darwin.

"To ⁠everyone doing it tough right now, know we are with ​you through the response and through the recovery," Albanese said on social ​media platform X.

Emergency Services ‌Minister Kristy McBain said in televised remarks that the troops ⁠would be deployed for up to 14 days.

Authorities, grappling with floods sparked by heavy rain ⁠in the Northern Territory and neighbouring Queensland state, ​said this week they recovered two bodies in a search for two Chinese backpackers who went ‌missing in floods in Queensland's Gympie region.

Climate change is causing heavy ‌short-term rainfall events to become more intense ⁠in Australia, the ‌country’s science ​agency has previously said.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Andrea ‌Ricci)



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